1 Samuel 8:15-17, Samuel’s Prediction Comes True (part II of II)

//Israel wanted a king, but Israel’s prophet, Samuel, warned against it. Yesterday, I showed how the first part of Samuel’s prediction came true: two of King David’s sons proclaimed themselves king, presenting themselves as prideful in exactly the manner Samuel predicted. Chariots, horsemen, and fifty men to run ahead of the chariots. But Samuel’s warning continued further. In today’s verses, Samuel tells how the king will tax and even enslave his people, if they insist on appointing one.

Enter the next son of David: Solomon. His horsemen and chariots would become legendary. So legendary, in fact, that he instituted a policy of forced labor—apparently not just on conquered enemies, but on the kingdom of Israel itself—for his building projects. He constructed a palace, a temple for God, and garrison cities for his chariots.

How did Solomon accumulate this wealth? By heavy taxation, until finally Israel became so bitter that they seceded from the Judah’s rule as soon as Solomon’s death made it possible. The two kingdoms of Israel and Judah would never be unified again. Samuel was right.